Personal Business
by lalalei
Summary: During "Mega X", a curious Roll asks the Repliroid about the future...and his past. Ruby-Spears cartoonverse.


"Hey, uh, X? Megaman X?" Roll ventured. She wasn't quite sure how to talk to the future-bot yet.

The Repliroid turned at the sound of Roll's voice, offering her a smile, if an awkward one. "Yes? Did you need something?"

Roll shrugged. "Uh, not much. I was just…curious."

X raised an eyebrow. "About me," he guessed. That would certainly be logical; he _was_ centuries ahead of them both technologically and temporally.

Roll nodded. "About you, yeah. But also about, well, the future."

Megaman X's smile faltered, but only briefly. "Any specific questions? I might be able to give you answers on the datapad, as well."

Roll put her Utility Arm to her chin in thought, unsure where to begin. Finally she spoke.

"I know what you told Dr. Light about him creating you, and that Dr. Cain found you in some warehouse."

She paused, imagining having to clean the place. Had to be awfully dusty if it were abandoned.

"And I also know what you said about the Mavericks—Vile, Spark Mandrill, and that creep Sigma."

X nodded. "Go on."

Roll sighed. "I, uh, don't take this the wrong way, but…you're pretty…hard-headed, you know? All serious and stoic. You only really seemed to loosen up when talking to Mega and Dr. Light."

X chuckled slightly, his smile more genuine. "I'm sorry if I come across that way. Hunting Mavericks is a serious job, and there's no real time off. Even when off-duty, a Maverick Hunter has to remain on guard. Sigma and his forces could strike at any time."

Roll seemed saddened. "Kinda like how we always have to fight Dr. Wily. I'm sorry the future isn't as happy as Dr. Light wishes…But you'll help things there once you get back, right?"

Megaman X nodded. "I will do my best. I came here to help protect the future, as well. A Maverick Hunter's duty is to keep peace, at any cost."

Roll blinked, a thought occurring to her.

"Are there other Maverick Hunters besides you? Mega, Rush, and I work together a lot. My brother used to not want me to go into battle, but…"

She extended a blender from her Utility Arm and turned it on, eliciting surprise from X.

"I think I showed him I can fight if I need to."

X nodded in approval, his face stern but eyes distant and troubled. He was silent for a while, and Roll grew concerned. Had she asked too much, pried too deeply?

"… X? I'm sorry if that last question was too personal. I know you might have friends and stuff back home…"

The Repliroid sighed. "It's fine. To answer your question, there _are_ others besides me. Not so much now, though."

Roll blinked. "What do you mean?"

Megaman X stood up. He towered over her, his teal eyes piercing hers, and she shrank back. Roll was certain now she'd crossed a line.

She was surprised when X spoke again. His tone was soft, quiet.

"I had a partner in battle, like Megaman does with you. I had a friend called…Zero."

"Zero…" Roll repeated the name. "Sounds kinda cute."

X laughed a little, though it was clear he felt awkward talking about it. "I suppose you could call him that. He had long hair like yours. He wore red, too."

Roll nodded, trying to envision him. "Was he a Repliroid like you?"

"We weren't exactly sure. There's a lot about Zero that was a mystery to both me and Dr. Cain. We don't know who created him or where he came from, but he was a great asset to the Maverick Hunters. Rose up in the ranks faster than a sky cycle can fly."

Roll whistled. "Wow. Some hotshot."

"Indeed. He was even my mentor, for a while. He was proficient with a plasma cannon as well as an energy sword, and his skills knew no equal. I was good at the time, but not as good as Zero. There wasn't a Hunter or Maverick who could challenge him."

X's face darkened. "Until one day…Sigma and Vile arrived."

Roll gulped. "What happened?"

"Whatever else he may be, Sigma was no fool. He gathered Repliroids in great numbers to rise up against humanity, and his strongest soldier was Vile."

Roll made a face. "If Dr. Light created you, I bet someone like _Wily_ made Sigma or Vile. Those creeps go together like peas in a pod."

X grimaced. "From what Megaman's told me of Wily, he sounds like the kind of man who'd create them. Evil to the core…"

He paused. "At any rate, Sigma soon decided he had enough men and resources to attack us. The Maverick Hunters weren't defenseless—small uprisings had been going on for months before they officially revealed themselves. But even we weren't able to hold all of them off. Not forever."

It was like Roll could see the battle. The Maverick Hunters, outnumbered but fighting valiantly, though they were slowly losing ground.

Megaman X continued. "We managed to get Dr. Cain to safety, at least, but we were still taking heavy losses. It was then that I made a decision."

Roll shivered. "What was it, X?"

"I went on the attack. I charged forward, recklessly, blasting and dodging Maverick attacks as best I could. Eventually, I made my way to the front of the line…and I saw why they hadn't overwhelmed us completely."

"You mean something was stopping them?"

"Right. Or, rather, some_one_. Zero was there, fighting the Mavericks with a fury I'd never seen from him in training. He was wounded, but he kept going on. Even after his sword had been knocked away, he fought with the plasma cannon instead."

Roll clasped her hands together, picturing the fight. "Wow…Sounds like he needed help, though. A one-man army's still one man."

"Exactly my thinking. I decided to join Zero, help him fight. But I made the wrong choice of target. Vile was on the front lines as well, fighting in an enormous machine of some kind…and I went after him myself. My reasoning was that if I could damage or disable him enough, I could force the Mavericks to retreat."

"Did it work," Roll asked, optimism in her voice.

"…" X shook his head, and Roll's face fell.

"I was still a rookie Hunter at the time. I didn't know his weak points, or even if he _had_ weak points. But I gave it my best shot. I ran up to Vile's machine and blasted at it, but the plasma cannon didn't seem to affect it. Zero told me to look out, but the machine knocked him aside. And before I could move, Vile retaliated with his cannon."

Roll winced. Vile's shoulder cannon had hurt enough when it'd hit Rush. Even if the Repliroids were more durable than they were, it still wouldn't be a fast-healing wound. X himself winced, as if he were reliving the pain.

"It hit me straight on, and I couldn't move afterward. Before I knew what was happening, the machine was ready to crush me where I lay. I was certain it was all over."

"Obviously, you're here now. So what happened?"

"Zero happened. He dashed towards us, got me out of the way just before I would've been crushed. Then he checked to see if I was alright. I confirmed I was, and Zero said something that gave me hope."

"Yeah?"

"He said, 'We'll take them down, Megaman X…no matter the cost.'"

X paused again, and Roll waited for him to go on. It was clear that this part of the story, whatever it was, was the most painful to recount.

"…Vile wasn't the only Maverick who fought dirty. Sigma had been hiding in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike. And while Zero was distracted helping me, he slipped a shock collar on him to paralyze him. I wasn't affected, but in my current state I wasn't much help."

Roll nodded in sympathy. "I kind of understand…Wily's pulled tricks like that before. What happened then?"

"Sigma said something I will never forget. He said 'Teach this Hunter scum a lesson, Vile.' As soon as he said that, Vile opened fire."

Megaman X cringed, pain and regret lining his eyes.

"When I opened my eyes again, Zero was in pieces."

Roll's mouth hung open. "I…I can't believe that…that's awful! But couldn't Dr. Cain repair him?"

"Like I said earlier, not much was known about Zero. The most we could think to do would be to gather his pieces and see what fit together, and base his repairs off of what worked and what didn't."

X's face fell. "Last I checked Dr. Cain was still trying to repair him. I check in whenever I can, but there has been no significant progress made."

"I see…I bet you didn't take that lying down, did you," Roll said angrily. "If I were there I would've fought them for hurting my friend!"

Megaman X smirked. "Right again. I did fight. And this time I fought smart. I aimed at the joints of the machine Vile was riding, blasting at the exposed metal. And this time I did damage. The thing toppled over, and his shoulder cannon was destroyed from the impact."

Roll grinned. "One down. What about Sigma?"

"He panicked when Vile went down, and ordered a retreat. But I wasn't done yet. He'd shown no mercy to us, so I wouldn't show any for him. He had been the one to give Vile the order, after all."

"What'd you do," Roll asked, breathless.

X seemed uneasy. "…You know how Sigma has those markings across his eyes in the datapad file?"

"Yeah?"

"That's how he got them. Two blaster shots across the face."

Roll blinked. "Yikes. Bet he retreated even quicker after that."

"Indeed…Things were quiet for a long time after that. Dr. Cain and I were able to rebuild much of what was lost, even the majority of the Maverick Hunters. And when life got closer to normal, I began to train, to fight. I wanted to prove myself to Zero, to myself, and the other Repliroids. I wanted to be the hero Dr. Light wished me to be. And to do that, I must destroy the Mavericks, to bring about peace to the future."

Megaman X straightened, once again the stern, strong Maverick Hunter of the future. He headed for the door where the Sky Cycle was kept.

"I'll be leaving soon with your brother to go out after Vile and Spark Mandrill. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing this time," he added with a small smile.

Roll grinned back. "One thing, though."

X turned. "Yes?"

She swallowed hard, hands clasped in worry and prayer.

"Keep Mega safe, okay? Promise?"

"…I promise to," he said sincerely.

Roll smiled. "Thanks."

As she watched him leave, she called to him one last time.

"I don't know what our future holds, X, but I trust you with it. I'm sure Zero does too."


End file.
